{"id":865,"date":"2014-07-14T12:31:25","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T17:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/?p=865"},"modified":"2014-07-14T12:38:58","modified_gmt":"2014-07-14T17:38:58","slug":"chipping-tip-aids-graceful-touch-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/golf\/instruction\/865\/chipping-tip-aids-graceful-touch-down","title":{"rendered":"Chipping Tip Aids Graceful Touch-Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWatch out for the words,\u201d legendary radio host Ron Britain used to intone at the end of his broadcasts. Of course, King Bee\u2019s admonition wasn\u2019t about chipping, per se<\/i>, but it could be applied to the received wisdom that crisply struck chip shots require a sharp, descending blow.<\/p>\n

The physics may be correct, but the imagery may be less helpful than the mental picture recently offered by Joe Ostrowski, teaching professional at Golf & Body<\/a>, in Manhattan. Instead of the descending blow concept, Ostrowski suggests envisioning the clubhead mimicking the flight path of an aircraft upon landing.<\/p>\n

(Ostrowski, in turn, credits PGA professional Andrew Rice, a mentor during Rice\u2019s tenure at Atlantic Golf Club, in Bridgehampton, New York, for passing along the tip.)<\/p>\n

\"carrier-landing\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because, to this writer, \u201cdescending\u201d has too often morphed into \u201cchunked,\u201d \u201cblow\u201d replaced by \u201cstab.\u201d Ostrowski\u2019s visualization seems much more compatible with chipping\u2019s nature as a touch skill, its steady motion more likely to produce good tempo.<\/p>\n

Ostrowski\u2019s word picture may not ultimately replace the descending blow trope, but Golf & Body undoubtedly represents a new benchmark in total golf immersion, at least for those who can afford it.<\/p>\n

A 25,000-square-foot \u201curban country club\u201d on 6th<\/sup> Avenue, near Herald Square in mid-town Manhattan, it has the latest in swing diagnostic equipment, including seven high-definition golf simulators with 30 world-class courses; TrackMan launch monitor and video-analysis software; a SAM (for science and motion) Putt Lab device; and multiple putting and chipping greens.<\/p>\n

The director of golf is Darrell Kestner, something of a metropolitan New York-area legend for both his teaching and playing acumen.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a first-rate gym, staffed by golf-fitness specialists to help members overcome their physical impediments to game improvement. Massage and acupuncture services are available, as is dining and an inviting 19th<\/sup> hole.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, membership fees are comparable to Golf & Body\u2019s country cousins: Officially opened last year, currently there\u2019s a one-time initiation charge of $5,000, with annual dues of $7,500. The club plans to cap the roster at about 200 members.<\/p>\n\"Golf<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWatch out for the words,\u201d legendary radio host Ron Britain used to intone at the end of his broadcasts. Of… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[980402,980403,980404,6096,3454,980407,980408,980409],"class_list":["post-865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-instruction","category-golf","tag-golf-amp-body","tag-joe-ostrowski","tag-ron-britain","tag-trackman","tag-atlantic-golf-club","tag-manhattanherald-square","tag-darrell-kestner","tag-sam-putt-lab"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2014\/07\/carrier-landing1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions\/869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tomharack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}